USMNT players in the 2024-25 Bundesliga
Six USMNT players start the season in the Bundesliga, a league with a change in scope after Bayer Leverkusen lifted the title last season. Gio Reyna spent the first half of the 2023-24 season with Borussia Dortmund before leaving on loan to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. He had 11 Bundesliga appearances, mainly as a substitute, and then played nine games in the Premier League. Dortmund finished fifth in a season marked by Bayer Leverkusen winning the title by 17 points. Dortmund’s 63 points had them 16 ahead of 6th-place Eintracht and two behind 4th-place RB Leipzig.
As expected, Dortmund has made several offseason moves, including deals to bring in forward Maximilian Beieir from Hoffenheim for reportedly €29.5m, defender Waldemar Anton for reportedly €22.5m, and forward Serhou Guirassy for reportedly €18m. Anton and Guirassy both join from Stuttgart. They also brought in midfielder Pascal Gross from Brighton in a deal worth reportedly €7m. Borussia Dortmund moved forward Niclas Fullkrug to West Ham for reportedly €27m, defender Tom Rothe to Union Berlin for reportedly €5m, and Forward Paris Brunner to Monaco for reportedly €4m. Marco Reus who played in 26 league games last season is now a member of the LA Galaxy. Jadon Sancho, who rejoined his old club on loan last season, has returned to Manchester United.
Timmy Chandler’s Eintracht finished 6th in 2023-24, qualifying for the Europa League. Chandler played in six Bundesliga games and two in the Europa Conference League. Starting his 11th season with his hometown club, Chandler earns a leadership position due to having been there for some of Eintracht’s greatest moments. Paxten Aaronson is also on Eintracht’s books, spending this season on loan to FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie.
Eintracht made several major moves this offseason, adding defender Arele Amenda, and midfielders Krisztian Lisztes and Can Uzun. They transferred defender Willian Pacho to PSG in a deal reportedly worth €40m.
Lenny Maloney’s Heidenheim finished 8th in 2023-24, taking the last European qualification spot with a chance to advance to the UEFA Conference League league stage. Heidenheim got there on a tiebreaker with the 9th and 10th-place clubs also finishing on 42 points. Maloney played in 29 league games last season, a key part of what kept Heidenheim in contention for a European spot. Heidenheim brought in Benfica midfielder Jan-Niklas Beste in a transfer reportedly worth €10m.
Kevin Paredes played in 28 league games last season for Wolfsburg, scoring three goals. The club finished 12th on 37 points, two points behind Augsburg and two above Mainz. The difference between 12th-place and the relegation playoff spot was four points, an unnecessary reminder of the degree of difficulty in the Bundesliga.
Addressing that included Wolfsburg bringing in forward Mohamed Amoura from Belgium club Union St-Gilloise in a deal reportedly with €17m and goalkeeper Kamil Grabara from FC Copenhagen for reportedly €13.5m.
Joe Scally’s Gladbach finished 14th, a point above the relegation playoff spot. Scally had 31 league appearances, with a goal and four assists. Gladbach spent on forward Tim Kleindienst from Heidenheim in a deal reportedly worth €7m and reportedly €1m to Holstein Kiel for midfielder Philipp Sander.
Jordan Pefok’s Union Berlin finished in 15th-place, a point behind Gladbach, tied on 33 points with 16th-place Vfl Bochum. Bochum won the relegation playoff on penalties over Fortuna Dusseldorf. Pefok spent last season with Scally at Gladbach, playing in 25 league games scoring five goals with four assists. Union Berlin added midfielder Laszlo Benes in a deal with Hamburg, reportedly worth €6m, and defenders Tom Roth from Borussia Dortmund (reportedly €5m) and Leopold Querfeld from Rapid Vienna (reportedly €2.5m). They transferred midfielders Jami Leweling to Stuttgart (€5m) and Morten Thorsby to Genoa (reportedly €4m).
